


The Peace We Find Between Snow-Covered Mountains

by DjDangerLove



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Comforting Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Hurt/Comfort, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani Needs a Hug, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, M/M, Nicky taking care of Joe, Protective Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, because I'm five stories deep in this fandom and haven't written anything else, but the hurt has already happened so its mostly just comfort, like really soft, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28053150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DjDangerLove/pseuds/DjDangerLove
Summary: Nicky takes Joe to their small cabin tucked between snow capped mountains to heal from the aftermath of Merrick.Or another self-indulgent fic where Nicky takes care of Joe and it's as soft as the snow falling down around their house.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 9
Kudos: 181





	The Peace We Find Between Snow-Covered Mountains

**Author's Note:**

> I found this ambient winter scene on Youtube and it made me want to write something soft for Nicky and Joe. So if you're wondering what the couch part of their cabin looks like this is exactly it  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oakA7RLvmWs

The train rolled slowly towards snow capped mountains, pushing heat through overhead vents that did little to chase away the chill of the on coming climate. Joe’s hand, intertwined with his, was cold underneath Nicky’s fingers. He rubbed a sympathetic pattern across the man’s thumb with his own before lifting their linked hands to press a warm kiss to the thin skin of the back of Joe’s hand. 

Joe huffed, undeterred by Nicky’s ministrations. “You know how much I hate the cold.”

“In our many years, that is something you have made perfectly clear,” Nicky assured him, voice barely above a whisper as most of the other patrons around them dozed in their seats during the early hour of the morning. He squeezed Joe’s hand as he laughed. “It is something I am not likely to forget.” 

“Then why did you _insist_ on this cabin then? We could have been in Malta two days ago.”

Joe hadn’t questioned his decision when he’d told Andy where they would be after their older sister all but pushed them out the door with orders to rest and reconnect while she worked on training Nile. Nicky had been grateful for her insistence that the two of them should take some time alone a few months after London. He’d held her extra tight as he hugged her goodbye and promised to bring his own baklava she loved so much upon their return. 

“I thought you wanted to go to Malta,” Joe continued, sinking further down in his spot until his knees brushed the back of the seat in front of him. Nicky, used to the way Joe preferred to splay his legs, didn’t bother moving when Joe’s leg bumped into his. 

“I want to visit Malta when the memories we make there will be nothing but good ones.”

Joe rolled his head along the back of his seat, his confused brow barely peeking out from the beanie sitting low over his head. Nicky mirrored him so they were eye level. “Don’t look so worried, my love. I just want to be happy when we are there.”

Joe’s head lifted from the rest and he pushed at the beanie on his head until a few of his curls sprung loose at the top. “You aren’t happy?”

Nicky grinned despite himself, the moment such a contradiction. This beautiful man in front of him was bundled up adorably against the cold yet his nose carried the tiniest shade of pink on the tip and he’d drank three hot chocolates while they waited for their train to depart causing the lady in front of them to become annoyed when his leg started bouncing up and down impatiently during his bout with a sugar high. He had apologized at her look of displeasure, but on his second time up to use the restroom in the first ninety minutes of their ride, he bumped into her shoulder when the train jostled and she had chastised him like a small child for his energy. Nicky had barely been able to keep his snicker inaudible but Joe had flipped him off over the lady’s head regardless. 

Nicky squeezed his hand again, tugging just bit to get Joe to lean back in his seat. Once they were eye level again, he asked, “Are you?”

“Nicky, if I have done-“

“None of that, Yusuf,” he cut in with a gentle smile. “It’s been a long few months, especially for us. I want to wake up in the morning with nothing to do except what we choose. I want to read some new books, old ones too. I want to bake that honey bread we made for Asmaa and her family in Marrakech when her jadda passed away.”

The corner of Joe’s mouth curled underneath his beard at the mention of Asmaa, a young mother of three that ran one of the food markets they’d befriended when they took time off nearly a decade ago. “That was indeed some of the best bread you’ve ever made, but I distinctly remember you only allowing me to have one piece of it.”

“We were low on ingredients and as I recall, you ate Seffa nearly every day for an entire week.”

“It’s a good thing I did. Had I relied on my husband to feed me properly I think I would have succumbed to starvation.” 

Nicky snorted, his amusement unable to be tamed at the rare sight of Yusuf’s teasing nowadays. “I promise to feed you proper when we get to the cabin. You’ll want for nothing, habibi.” 

Yusuf grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Only after you’ve read your books and rested, my love. You’re tired.”

“I am,” Nicky agreed, but he reached out with his free hand and brushed his thumb along Yusuf’s cheek. “And I’m worried about you.”

The older man closed his eyes and sighed. Nicky could feel him relax slightly under his touch and it made him more eager to reach the cabin sooner. Joe’s eyes slowly peeked open and sought his gaze once more. “Perhaps you are right about the cabin. Snowed in, just the two of us, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.” Joe turned to kiss the hand still resting against his face. “You always take such good care of me, Nicolò.”

Nicky leaned forward to kiss him properly before tugging his beanie back in place and reaching for the blanket he’d thought to bring for the long train ride. He spread it out over Joe, making sure his back wasn’t exposed before taking up the rest and fixing it around himself. Once they were settled he bumped his head against Joe’s and said, “It brings me happiness to do so.”

—————

The cabin is two stories, the second landing only housing a king sized mattress they’ve laid on the floor with multiple pillows and blankets and the small closet to hang their clothes. The first floor is only slightly bigger with a small kitchenette off in the back corner of the house and a two person dining table by the front window. The bathroom is underneath the stairs to the loft and there’s an Iranian rug covering the square footage without furniture.

Upon entering the cabin that night, Joe immediately started the wood burning fire place while Nicky took their bags upstairs to be sorted later. When he came back down, Joe was already sitting on the edge of the well-worn couch that’s tucked between two built in bookcases off to the right of the stairs. Nicky eased down into the plush cushions and pulled Joe with him until his husband’s back was against his chest and bracketed by his legs. 

The wind blew fat flakes of snow against the large windowpane overlooking the backyard and Nicky rested his cheek against the soft threads of Joe’s beanie still on his head so that he could continue to watch the snowfall. It was quiet besides the wind outside and the wood crackling underneath flames as they casted dancing shadows around the house. 

In his arms, Yusuf breathed slowly, but heavily with his nose slightly stuffed up from the cold, and Nicky rubbed circles across his chest in time with his audible inhales of breath. “Are you hungry?” Nicky asked after a long moment of just being still with one another. He hoped the answer would be yes, though he was reluctant to move. He couldn’t remember the last time his love ate a proper meal and he thought if anything would help Joe sleep more soundly right now, a full belly might do the trick.

“I could be persuaded to eat some warm soup if the chef at this fine establishment would care to bring us some.”

The smile that tugs at Nicky’s mouth is surely felt through Joe’s beanie as the older man chuckled at his own answer. 

“And if the chef is accommodating to your request when I ring the lobby for room service, what kind of soup would you have me ask for?”

Nicky felt Joe’s fingers wrap around his forearm still covering the older man’s chest as he replied, “There’s this delectable sounding soup I noticed from the menu on the pamphlet by the bed. I can’t remember the name but it has rosemary and noodles in broth.”

Nicky lifted his head from his makeshift pillow and tilted it to look at Joe. “Ah, I’m sorry, my love. The staff informed me they’re fresh out of the noodles you like, but asked if a white bean may be used in its place.”

“Do you trust the chef with such a change to the recipe?” 

Nicky hugged him a little tighter, knowing in just a moment he would have to let go entirely. “I do, but I think I may go supervise just in case,” he snickered while nipping playfully at Joe’s ear until he could squirm out from behind him to head to the kitchen. 

Nicky could’t see his husband anymore, as he piddled around the kitchen, but heard him shuffle around on the couch along with a few congested sniffles that should clear up soon. He thought to hum an Italian tune as he went about making soup, but worried it would put Yusuf to sleep before he ate so he let the ambiance of the room wash over them.

Twenty minutes later, he spooned out two bowls of soup and joined Joe back on the couch. Joe sats up, clearly on the verge of sleep but fighting it, and accepted his with a grateful moan. Nicky rolled his eyes at his husband’s dramatics, but felt the sudden swoop of pleasure in his belly at Yusuf’s approval nonetheless. 

“My compliments to the chef,” Joe said around a loud slurp, before quickly taking another. “This is better than what the menu suggested.”

“As long as you’re satisfied,” Nicky replied in lieu of telling Joe to eat more slowly, happy just to see his husband with an appetite. “Be sure to leave a good review.”

Joe winked at him playfully from behind his bowl. “Oh, I’m planning on it.”

————

Truthfully, Nicky had been looking forward to Joe’s _review_. It had been sometime since they’d been able to enjoy each other’s company in a more intimate way and so when they collapsed into bed together, lazily kissing and touching, Nicky felt himself come alive hot and fast, but Joe…Joe did not. 

“My love,” Nicky giggled as he nudged Joe’s slack jaw with his nose. “You are half asleep.”  
“N-no, nono, no…” Joe grumbled, shaking himself awake, but as he locked eyes with Nicky only one could open past halfway. “ ‘m not too sleepy for you.”

Nicky kissed him once more, long and slow, then kissed him on the nose with a grin. “Go to sleep, habibi.” He was pretty sure Joe did so before he finished saying it. 

————————

Nicky woke up cold and in an empty bed, to the sound of socked feet slipping down the stairs. The night still blanketed the cabin so they couldn’t have been asleep for more than a couple of hours and Nicky felt the exhaustion in every bit of his body. 

But Yusuf was always careful not to wake him with loud noises as his reactions weren’t always pleasant, and the fact that he could hear the bathroom door hit the wall as it was swung open had Nicky standing up quicker than he ought to have. 

Shaking his head to rid his vision of dark spots, he called after Joe while descending the staircase. He made it halfway down before he heard retching coming from underneath him. He took the rest of the stairs two at a time and turned the corner to the bathroom to see Joe on his knees in front of the toilet. 

“Oh, Yusuf,” he whispered sympathetically as he knelt down next to him and rubbed circles into his back as he endured another bout of dry heaving. Once he propped his forearm across the lid to rest his head, Nicky brushed his hair away from his clammy skin and teased, “I guess it’s a good thing you haven’t left your review yet.” 

Joe laughed loudly, caught off guard by Nicky’s comment, and then groaned, “Oh, please don’t make me laugh.”

“Scusa,” Nicky amended while reaching up for the hand towel by the sink. He ran it under cool water before rubbing it gently across the parts of Joe’s face he could. “Are you alright?”

“Nightmare. I just…” Joe trailed off with a generic hand gesture.

“Little more than a nightmare, if it has you in this shape, no?”

“I hate that we escaped, that we survived Merrick and..and Kozak…but they’re all still here,” Joe whispered, tapping the side of his head with his index finger. 

“You don’t speak of what they did to us, to _you_ , so where else could those memories possibly end up except trapped inside that head of yours, hmm?”

“It is unfair when you use my words against me. Truly. Have you no shame?”

“Me? A _Frank_? Clearly not.”

Yusuf laughed again, despite asking Nicky not to make him do so, and shoved at his shoulder while turning his head back into the toilet as a precaution. “I hate you,” he said, but his laughter still echoed around the bowl. 

“I changed your mind once. I have faith I can do it again.”

This time Joe’s laughter was followed closely by retching. 

——————

The morning sun barely peeked through the heavy filled snow clouds so the cabin stayed in partial darkness. Nicky curled himself up on one end of the couch, reading by an overhead lamp hung above the bookshelf while Joe sprawled across the rest of the couch in a doze. Nicky ran a hand up and down Joe’s back slowly, occasionally patting his husband’s head resting on his thigh when the older man murmured unintelligibly in his sleep. 

While Joe washed up from his bout of sickness, Nicky had texted Andy to let her know they were relatively okay and not to expect their return for sometime. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for both of them to heal and recover from the last few months, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to their time here cuddled together in the cabin.

**Author's Note:**

> I may come back and add at least another chapter to this. I'm not sure. Hopefully you enjoyed it regardless! Kudos and comments are appreciated! :)  
> Come yell at me on tumblr under the same name in the meantime.


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